Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year to all my readers!!!! 2014 will be SUCH a great year!!!!

linking up with thepleatedpoppy.com and tuckerup.blogspot.com

The most frustrating love story you've ever heard part 2

This is the man I talk about all the time on this blog... the one whose afraid of face recognition software and thus never poses for the blog... but he didn' t know I took this.. so HA!!! 

He has been home for the past 9 days and it has been NICE  having him home.... we belong together... in two days he heads off to Colorado for the last part of his training for his job... when thats over...  he will be home... for all the problems we have.. when we are together I feel complete... I feel safe... 

2013 was not good for our marriage.. but I have high hopes for 2014!!

But is it blog worthy???

I know all you have seen this episode of Seinfeld where Elaine has 60 sponges and has to conserve them.. I use this phrase all the time.. is it blogworthy???  Lately I have done alot of things blogworthy... I hosted a very nice Christmas Eve party (in which I eventually got drunk and passed out but I digress) I went to Goodwill and got some good deals... I found Ross... which... I have come to see as the poor mans Marshalls.... little did I know of all the deals at Ross!!!
Now.. yesterday.. a truly blogworthy moment... I got this chest...

I got it at Goodwill in in for Lemont for 60.00... I know this is at Target for 120.00... this took the place of what used to be this table...

 this table was old... it has wax on one of the legs.. so I got rid of it... the new chest has more storage....  

Blogworthy moment #2..

I took this with my brand new phone/camera stand... my hubsband got it for me for Christmas... whats nice about this story is I didn't ask for it.. he said, " its for your blog"... thats nice...(but probably laden in guilt as he used to be my photog) so even though its not the greatest pic of me... I will play with it and figure it out... 

Happy New Year to all four of my readers!!! I hope we all have alot of blogworthy moments in 2014!!!

Rumors of my death have been highly exaggerated....

No my loyal now 4 readers of this blog.... I am not dead.. I am alive... I have been hiding my head in shame because I downloaded all these cool photo apps for my phone and have taken NO pictures.... I suck.... it all started on Christmas Eve....
I went to a staff Christamass party on the 13th.... the hostess served these chocolate martinis... I could not indulge as I was driving... soooo... I had this great idea that I would serve the  chocolate martinis on Christmas Eve..... so I had it at my house... all was going well... not a meal... just appetizers.... sooo... I eat a little... have some wine.... Casey even brought her cute super nice boyfriend who she was sooooooooooo hesitant to meet me like I would embarrass her or something ( as if!!!) so all is merry and bright and then I bring out the chocolate martinis.... ok.... so after about (4?) I cannot string two letters together to make a word much less two words together to make a sentence.... so I gather up all my stamina and go into my bedroom and pass out.... now my faithful readers... I would love to tell you it ended there.... but alas no.... then I threw up all over my bed (this isn't me.. its here for effect) so my sisters come in... strip the bed down to the mattress.... throw out all my blankets and sheets and my new dress from Target...which was like this one.. but it was red plaid.. super cute... ruined!!!! sooooooo... they spray my room with all kinds of deoderizer and then light this candy apple candle to get rid of the smell.... I wake up at 3:00 AM. to the smell of this candle.... it was sooooooo bad... this candle is seriously like alcohol aversion therapy... every time I think about the candle, all of it comes back....... and the worst part?? it was such a lovely party.... I asked my hubsband at 3... "Did everyone have a good time?" He said yeah... you didn't pass out until 11 so everyone had a great time.... so the moral of the story is.... even though I had the party at my house.. I did NOT follow the rules of drinking...
1. DRINK WATER IN BETWEEN DRINKS
2. EAT FOOD
3. STOP AFTER 2 DRINKS

I was able to get up and make breakfast the next day and Christmas was not ruined.... and I have to remember what Confusius said....
"It is not in never failing that is our greatest strength... it is getting up after we fail"....

My Santa Scavenger Hunt...

Well y'all.. I have recovered from my last day before Christmas break... These were  my favorite part of the last day...

1. The school showed an 80 minute movie... so I got 80 minutes to get my room somewhat organized..

 

2. Our classroom had a cookie exchange... each student brought in 24 cookies  and then we had our exchange.. so each one got to bring 24 cookies to Santa....

 

3. This year I did something a little different.. as seen in my previous post, I got this super cute Santa scavenger hunt off of Groopdealz... but you can for sure do it for free... this is all you need:

 

* a letter from Santa on his personal stationary... from the desk of Santa... saying how the kids have been pretty good this year and hes noticed... but when he was going around the world to do his final checks, some things fell out of his pack... this is what was on my list

Santa's glasses

Santa's socks

Santa's snowglobe

Santa's hat

Santa's whistle

Dasher's collar

Santa's favorite book

Santa's special candy cane

A world map

Santa's ornament

candlesticks

Santa's toothbrush

Santa's hand sanitizer

 

There were 5 more things but I forgot... but you can get anything you want or have around the house..I literally found everything except the whistle and the map at the dollar store... you could make it easier or harder depending on your kids...

BUT I have to tell you.... I think I completely and utterly instilled the belief in Santa in my liottle puppies... I have one boy who  is really tall.. he gets mistaken for an 8-9 year old all the time and this makes him very arrogant.... height is power in first grade.. let me tell you.. so... he bought in all the way for the hunt... he was so cute!!! He totally believed... and to see the magic of Christmas in a first grader....

it is so precious.... Merry Christmas to all who stop by.... I truly appreciate each and every one of you

 

 

 

 



Coming to you LIVE from my classroom.. its SANTA!!!!

Good Morning Lovelies... This is my official Christmas outfit for our LAST day of first grade in 2013.... today we will get a visit from Santa in a very CLANDESTINE way.... ( for those who believe in Santa.. stop reading now.. I don't want to spoil it) I got this super cute Santa scavenger hunt on Groopdealz.... Santa apparently lost some things from his  pack and they landed in our room... so we have to hunt for the items on the list... it will be very exciting, loud, chaotic, and hopefully memory making!!! I'm busting my butt trying to keep the magic of Santa alive in these little puppies... so wish me luck!!!!

Is that workin for ya??

Good Afternoon Lovelies!!! This is the app I found on Tuesday while I was crying over all the dreaded reruns on TV... this one is called instacollage... look.. its like a Christmas card!!! I know the background of my pics is very messy... but my room is very small.. not much storage...

I've been thinking alot about that title.. "is it workin for ya?" all you Dr. Phil watchers will recognize it... it means the way you're conducting your business.. is it working?? In particular.. my freezing out of my hubsband... and I'll tell ya.. its not working.. things are the same.. I want to just be in the same space and share my time with him... I know.. y'all are like, "I KNOW! WE GET IT!!" but it is still not a reality.. so what do I do? Well freezing him out was making me miserable and not accomplishing anything... so I will try love... I'll let you know how it works.. we will be in the same place for about a week and a half so hopefully love will work!!!

Wilma Flintstone found an app!!

Good Morning Lovelies!!! Its Wednesday.... time for What I wore Wednesday over at thepleatedpoppy.com andtuckerup.blogspot.com

yesterday as I was mourning the loss of all my tv shows due to the Christmas season..I went on the internets trying to find something to entertain me.. so I found this one...and I found all these apps for my phone.. this collage one is one and I got another cool one too!!!! so go out and be adventurous like me!! It only took me a year to do it!!

Tuesday... snowy Tuesday

Girrrrrrrrrlllllllll... I love winter as much as the next guy... I may love it more than the next guy.... but all this snow... Wait til I'm on break!!! My class is now on 987,899th day of indoor recess... these puppies look like coke cans shook up and ready to explode.. yesterday they were playing minecraft in the classroom... which would be a fine game outside... but we can't go outside due to all the snow.... Winter break can NOT get here fast enough.. this morning my son said, " I'm going to miss the bus"... ( now say it like your accusing the person you're talking to as if that person is somehow responsible for a 16 year old not getting up in time to catc the bus) so my daughter drove him... these last days are the ragged edge of insanity!!! hopefully when I'm on break, my thoughts will be more cohesive!!!! Have a lovely day my friends!!!!!

This is not my beautiful house

Things in the world of pookapookapooka are bleak bleak bleak.... My marriage situation continues to get worse... its one stop forward three steps back... how did we get here?? How do we find our way back? CAN we find our way back?? I don't know... but being in two different places geographically and emotionally isn't helping the situation in any way shape form or fashion... we just keep getting farther and farther apart and now I feel like I'm on a waterfall and I can't  get off... I need God to help me... I know hes there, but I'm all alone and I don't know if I'm hearing the right message... 

**linking up withmythriftychic.com

A Beautiful Mind

For the three readers of this blog that were ready to call 911 yesterday because my post sounded like I was having a stroke... I must assure  you... I am fine (relatively speaking) I reread that post and it was like the ramblings of a madwoman...now I can not in good conscience say that I am not slowly going mad as this week feels like it started a month ago!!! Lets review....
* I have a neverending cold sore... it will not heal...
*We are on our 987th day (or so it feels) of indoor recess.... if you could see these puppies w/o an outlet for all their energy and excitement over Christmas.... you would cry..
*I am not putting my dogs in the garage in winter.. its too cold for them.. but Colby is afraid of me putting him anywhere.. so when I try to put him in the kitchen every morning its a cat and mouse game trying to get him in...
*My Christmas shopping has barely begun because my own children REFUSE to give me any indication of what they want
*It is raining (which is code for menstruation)
all of this in ONE WEEK!!! (and again we will not mention my house that needs a deep clean, my floors that need mopping, or the 66 lbs. of laundry I have to do!!!!!
THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!

Thursday freeze...

Good Morning Lovelies!!! It looks like it will be a white Christmas this year... I was thinking in the shower (where I do all my deep thinking) about 2013... uggh... 2013 stunk!!! I am ready for 2014... the only good thing to  come out of this year is my Colbies... the big black dog who photobombs all my pics.... my class this year is probably my best class in terms of personality.. behavior... notsomuch.... but I digress... the point is 2014 is an even number... that has to mean something good right???

My Tuesday outfit on Wednesday...

Girrrrrrrrrllllllllllll.. if being a day behind in this blog doesn't tell you how behind I am.. I dont know what will... yesterday was HEC>>>> TIC!!! I had a training in the morning so my puppies had a sub... that just sets them right off... my son was super sick... now... to tell you about this son of mine... for Christmas he asked for a new bed... right? Who asks for a bed for Christmas??? Well thats all he wanted.. so I ordered a bed frame and mattress on Amazon and it came yesterday... so we put it together... and now he has a new fabulous bed that he reported to be AMAAAAAAAZZZZING this morning... maybe it will help him get to school on time!!!!

A What I Wore Wednesday tribute to my mom...





One of my favorite blogs is thriftandshout.blogspot.com...Lindsey is a true fashionista with a flair for finding unusual cool things at thrift shops... so yesterday she put up this dress..





and said that houndstooth never goes out of style... well shes RIGHT because this sweater was my moms from the 90's... she was a fashionista too.... so in honor of my mom I present my houndstooth for What I Wore Wednesday over at thepleatedpoppy.com and tuckerup.blogspot.com... Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday!!!

 

today's outfit and gettin our Christmas on!!!

Groopdealz sweater... Target boots.. we got about 2 inches of snow.. so boots were a must!!!

I got this tv stand at Goodwill for 5.00!!! the hamper fits great and my dogs of course love it!!!



This nativity set was my mom's... it reminds me of her!!!



I would love to tell you this is mine.. but its not.. my friend Allison got this mantel at a flea market and spruced it up.. it looks soooooooooo fabulous I asked if I could display it on the blog... straight out of Pinterest!!!

What is death?

Ever since my dog Mattie died back in 2007 I have thought about death and what it is and how I felt about it... now.. why my dog? Because I spent sooooooo much time with her.. she was my baby.. she always wanted to be with me.. I wasnt' there when she actually passed.. my husband was there.. he said she turned off before she stopped breathing.. it took her about 4 hours to pass... as I have now learned watching "Time of Death" on Showtime.. this is called, "actively dying"... I have learned so much from this show... it is the most real documentary on human life I have ever seen while at the same time respecting each of the participants... last nights episode was about Nicole, an 18 year old with stage 5 melanoma... she was NOT ready to die, not ready to get ready to die, not ready to accept death... her dad came in and told her it was ok to go..that God was waiting for her... she didn't like that... she thought he was trying to get rid of her...it was not an easy one to watch...
One of the episodes featured a hospice nurse who put death this way... we labor to come into this world.. we have to labor to go out... when you look at death in this way, like a birth into new life.. it really makes death something beautiful.... I am so privileged to have watched the participants of this show and their brave journey as they are birthed into their new life... it has taught me so much.. taken so much of my fear away and shown me that death is natural... it is as natural as our own birth.. and should be treated with as much sweetness and love as birth

the evolution of an outfit

the winning outfit!!!

I don't know if any of you do this.. but I swear I must have changed clothes 4 times this morning... I got these denim leggings from Target... they are regular leggings, but have an elastic waist.. so I'm like, "hell yeah... bring on the elastic waist!!" so I get them home and they are ok from the belly button down.. but the elastic pushed my muffin top up so I looked totally gross!!!at first I thought it was the sweater.. then I tried on three more sweaters and realized it was the jeans... so I switched out the jeans and put the original sweater back on...I'm not saying the elastic waist jeans are no good... but I'm going to have to wear something that HIDES the muffin!!! Can you imagine an elastic waist not being a good thing??? 

Whats your issue??

Every couple has an issue... maybe its sex, money, trust, intimacy... our issue? Chris's constant leaving... This is how we met....
He was in the Persian Gulf during Desert Storm... my high school wrote me a letter and said a classmate of mine was stationed there and would like letters from home... so...I wrote him a letter... his name was Steve... so.. it turned out that Steve was this mans roommate... so it turns out that Steve go so many letters he gave mine to Chris... Chris wrote me a letter and I wrote back... this went on for about 7 months.. then I met him face to face.... love ensued... and he went back to California where he was stationed...he moved here (Illinois) when he got out of  the Marines about a year after we met.... stayed for 3 months... moved to Florida....stayed there for about a year... moved back to Illinois... love ensued again.. we got married... he signed up for National Guard (1 w/end a month... 2 weeks a yeargone) he was stationed in Fort Polk Louisiana in 2004 for a  year... that was a challenge...got back home..3 years later he got a job in Virginia... he moved there in 2007 for a year.. got injured... moved back... now hes gone again.... the long distance is how we met and has plagued us ever since... this is our issue....There is no lack of love or commitment or affection... We have love for each other... now we just need to have a common space!!!!
Whats your issue???

My sad little life part 897

Girrrrrrrrlllllll... look at all these photo bombers in this pic... it is a good thing these dogs are cute otherwise they would all be PITA's!! (thats pain in the asses).. I don't know if you can see it, but I have a HUGE DISGUSTING cold sore thanks to my hubsband and all the stress of this seperation....Do you know how many hair/nails/skin vitabeans I take?? like 3 a day!!! WTH??? I know y'all are going to say "take lycine!!!" but I hate lycine and I'll tell you why... lycine only works while you're on it.. God forbid you miss a dose or the cold sores will swarm all over your face!!! Cold sores are the worst because theres a stigma attached to them... like you're dirty... but in reality.. its STRESS!!!!! and winter doesn't make it any easier.... SWOOSH... between my marital woes, my pension reform, my cold sore, this blog is becoming a real downer.... I gotta pep it up.... Good things need to come my way soon....

What I Wore Wednesday

Good Morning Lovelies!!! Time once again.. What I Wore Wednesday over at thepleatedpoppy.com andtuckerup.blogspot.com Today is  wet Wednesday... and when I got to school I recieved these...

from one of my students... made my day!!!
I don't know how many of you have heard.. but our teacher pension reform in Illinois has passed so this means:
I have to work two more years before I can retire
I will be making 300,000.00 less over my retirment
the money I paid into retirement has been spent on other things and is gone gone gone.... why teachers??? why target them? We work the most and make the least... Illinois is screwed up!!!! They don't call it the windy city for the weather... but I swear its the same all over.. if your state hasn't dipped into your retirement.. just wait.. they will....